Good organization is foremost in making a race feel good so you can focus on your own performance. It doesn't take much to make you take notice of some gaps in quality control. Poorly marked courses, people getting lost, taking the wrong turn, unsupervised areas, absence of aid stations, unsafe car traffic vs bike race integration on roadways, late starts, errand buoys, insufficient lifeguard support, lack of port-a-potties, transition areas too crammed, no security for going in and out of transition with bikes. Foremost, it's feeling like the safety aspect is not up to par. If that comes up short, then everything else will.

Once the foundation is solid, the extraneous fun things that give a race its character and signature feel comes naturally.

I like that - Event Panache - sounds fancy so I would think your already on your way to setting up a quality race ;)

Both the triathlons I have done were well run, but to me, the better of the two created an atmosphere that made me want to stick around after the finish. I'm not going to be standing on the podium to receive a trophy and neither will the majority of the particpants, but if you create an atmosphere where people would like to stick around for awhile after the race, I think that would help with sponsors and an overall all feeling of community, etc... If the racers load up their gear and are trying to leave amongst racers who are still on the cource competing, you have two problems. One you propably didn't make a lasting impression on the person who is leaving early and then the person still on the course is getting upset because they are fighting vehicle traffic.

I also particpate in the Charleston Bridge run (10K road race) which is a very large event and is well run. One of the things they do is make the event a point to point race vice the traditional out and back. They provide a bus service to get people back to the start area. This does a couple of things. One is it eleminates a huge amount of vehicle congestion around the finish area and it help promote people sticking around to enjoy the festivities around the finish. I haven't really heard of a triathlon that does this, but with the run being the final leg it would seem to be feasable to me. However, I would think that with the cost of some of the bikes in these things that you have some sort of security in the transition area so people who are socializing at the finish line aren't worried about their bikes/equipment.

Last race I did, there was a mother sitting on my towel in transition, nursing her baby...

LOL!!! I would think most of the time spent mentally preparing yourself for the race goes right out the window when you something like that. Just imagine coming out of a tough swim all dizzy and disorientated to find them waiting for you in transition! :eek:

Well at least you could have had a snack in Transition.

Congratulations you've just described the perfect adventure race! :D

It's been my experience that the average person doesn't understand the word "triathlon".

Ditto on all said above. But what draws me back to some races every year is the post race activities. Here is my list of things that make me smile after a race.

1. free massage
2. plenty of food and drink
3. a band or music playing
4. cool race t-shirt
5. free massage

Lol. Sounds like a race after my own heart BG; especially the "exorbitant fees" part. - Kidding. We have the views. The beer is something I'll have to work on.

That's true. I log a lot of hours explaining the event to city/county officials, law enforcement and service clubs, and I always start with a history lesson and an explanation of the fundamentals.